Dredge on iOS is a great way of experiencing one of the best indie games of all time

Every now and then, a brand-new indie game comes out that is so fun and different that it’s like a slap in the face, in the best way possible. Dredge was like that for me, but the slap was with a cold, wet, and mutated fish. Now, Black Salt Games’ eerie fishing adventure has made its way to iOS, and it’s just as captivating as ever.

It follows a man who arrives in an open world archipelago by crashing into a small town’s dock. He then assumes the role of the town’s fisherman, helping to catch fish in the local area before meeting a mysterious figure who sends him on an adventure to reclaim lost relics; an adventure that pushes the fisherman to question his sanity, help strange characters, and come face-to-face with Lovecraftian nightmares.

Despite its focus on Lovecraftian horror – meaning, the horror that drives us insane – Dredge is, at heart, a very cosy game. You spend the majority of your time sailing around the game’s open world, fishing and dredging up resources to upgrade your boat, and interacting with the world’s many quirky inhabitants.

I played the game and I loved it on my PlayStation 5 and PC, but this time I was playing on my iPhone 15 Pro, and although the game was exactly the same, the experience was altogether different.

Here fishy fishy fishy…

Starting in the cosy bay of Greater Marrow, the town’s Mayor greeted me after my fatefall crash, offering a new boat in return to working as the town’s fisherman. I accepted and sailed out into the shallow waters between the towns of Greater and Little Marrow on a hunt for fish.

As someone who has sunk dozens of hours into Dredge on other platforms, what first struck me was the UI change and adapted controls. A thumb on the left screen controls your boat, while a thumb on the right controls the camera – unusual for someone like me who doesn’t play a lot of mobile games, but I quickly adapted and found them easy to use.

Controls to interact with the environment – to dock, fish, dredge, use tools, and analyse things – all appeared as large button prompts on the right side of the screen, making it easy to interact with your environment and use different tools. Even other elements of the game, like selecting NPCs to speak with, interacting with fish and items, and installing upgrades, were all easy despite the smaller icons – although this could pose an issue for people playing on smaller screens.

Dredge’s mini-games, fishing where you have time button presses while an arrow moves over coloured blocks and dredging where you have to jump between rotating rows to avoid blocks, played significantly better on my iPhone than they did on console and PC. I found them much more fun to play, with an unhinged desire to tap the green and yellow blocks with my thumbs at just the right time for an added element of immersion.

Within a few short minutes of starting Dredge on my iPhone, I had adapted and was sailing around the town of Greater Marrow in search of cod and other sea-life for the quaint village, and despite playing on a smaller screen, having to focus and use my body to physically interact with the screen somehow offered a much more immersive experience.

Exploring the horror of the open sea

Dredge’s Lovecraftian horror elements is just one of the many reasons I love the game. Daring to explore the open ocean overnight is risky but tempting for the reward of rare fish; as your panic heightens (An eye at the centre of the screen widens before crazing), you’ll spot ghost ships sailing in the distance, get attacked by behemoth sea creatures or a murder of crows, hear the whispers of a strange language, and will have to dart between magically appearing rocks.

Although I was completely engrossed in Dredge’s horror when playing on console and PC, I found myself less so when playing on my iPhone. Exploring at night was always stressful and frightening, but on mobile I found it to be smooth sailing. I don’t think it’s anything to do with the game itself: it was likely my surroundings or the fact I’ve already sunk so many hours into the game.

I played Dredge on my phone between Tube journeys and while traveling, often in bright environments, rather than on the sofa or at my desk in low lighting – something to consider if you’re looking to pick up Dredge on mobile and you like to be heavily immersed and spooked.

Despite this, I still enjoyed venturing out at night while playing Dredge and always found myself questioning whether I had made the right decision in doing so or trying to plan my escapades out of Greater Marrow with limited daylight. If you’re someone who enjoys light survival elements, Dredge should be right up your alley.

Pocket gaming

Playing Dredge on iOS was, simply put, wonderful. I loved having the ability to easily boot up one of my favourite indie titles of all time when out or while at home at any time: while my partner was flicking through YouTube and the PS5 was inaccessible, when the PC was already in use, or when I just couldn’t be bothered to get up from the sofa.

Performance was great, and the game visually looked as it good on my iPhone as it did on my PlayStation 5 and PC. Gameplay stayed fundamentally the same, although controls differed slightly, I felt it did a much better job of immersing me into the role of the fisherman as I tapped at the screen to reel in my catch and dragged the boat around the Marrow islands.

Dredge on iOS is a fantastic way of experience Black Salt Games’ debut title. I feel no different about the game than I did when I first finished it – I absolutely love it – and having it on my mobile is a great opportunity to give me something to play while traveling or when I’m sick of my console and PC. It’s perfect for those who’ve already played Dredge and just want instant access, and for those who are new to the game and want to run it without performance issues.

Dredge will be released on mobile on February 27th.